Leeds Festival shuts two stages for rest of event following Storm Lilian
Two stages will remain closed for the entirety of Leeds Festival following high winds caused by Storm Lilian.
The storm brought strong winds exceeding 70mph to northern parts of England and festival organisers were forced to shut the Chevron, BBC Radio 1 and Aux stages on Friday, 23 August.
On Friday evening, organisers confirmed the BBC Radio 1 and the brand-new Aux stage will not reopen for scheduled performances on Saturday or Sunday, which were expected to feature stars including Jorja Smith, Teddy Swims, and The Wombats.
“Unfortunately the health and safety team have now confirmed we will not be able use the BBC Radio 1 tent & stage tomorrow or Sunday,” festival organisers said on X.
“We are devastated for you and of course the artists that were eager to play.
“That is the same for the Aux stage too. Mother nature has played her part.
“On the positive side, we are able to be reasonably sure the Chevron will be fit to play tomorrow and will be opened by The Useless Hotline at midday.”
The Chevron stage is expected to feature British electronic group The Prodigy and US rapper Denzel Curry on Saturday, as well as Scottish star Barry Can’t Swim and DJ Sonny Fodera on Sunday.
On Friday, rap artist Bru-C was the first artist to take to the main stage after the arena was reopened, with rock band The Luka State missing out on their midday slot.
His performance came after US star Renee Rapp pulled out of opening the main stage gig.
“Leeds, the weather has been too dangerous for our crew or myself to set up/access the stage all morning,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I’m so sad to miss you but your safety and my team’s safety is of the utmost importance and I can’t risk that. Love you down and see you at Reading.”
Earlier in the day, festival organisers issued a travel update and said in a post that while bus services in Leeds city centre have resumed, there would “still be a wait at the festival site for a minimum of 90 minutes” before people are let through.
A yellow wind warning issued by the Met Office was in place across northern England and North Wales until 11am on Friday, with the storm bringing gusts of around 50-60mph in the region.
As the storm began to batter the north, festival organisers encouraged revellers based in the West Yorkshire city to stay in their tents.
One attendee told the PA news agency she was experiencing the “worst day ever” as her tent had been destroyed and her group had been asked to leave their area because of the windy conditions.
Another festivalgoer, Dylan Maggs, 26, told PA that he saw the perimeter wall fall on empty tents and smash a van window.
His group was “right next” to the perimeter fence when it came down, saying: “It looks worse than it was for sure – no-one was inside of the tents when it came down. A fence also took out a van’s window.
“We’re just laughing through it, not much else we can do really, it’s annoying but it is what it is. We’ve seen a lot of people ditch tents and leave.”
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